About us

Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation’s allied health clinicians provide prescription of therapeutic exercise-based programs for individuals afflicted with injury or illness, principally under a compensable-injury policy.

Our story

Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation was established in 2000 by Exercise Physiologist, John McDonald, who had a vision of ensuring that structured physical activity was a key foundation of rehabilitation at the earliest time in the recovery journey for as many individuals as possible.

Over the years the company has evolved to become an industry leader in clinically-guided, best-practice rehabilitation interventions for people afflicted with injury or illness under a compensable-injury policy, principally across Workers’ Compensation, Life Insurance/Income Protection and Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) / Compulsory Third Party (CTP) schemes.

With an ever increasing national footprint, we currently employ over 70 Allied Health Clinicians across Australia and pride ourselves on delivering the utmost standard of care to all of our clients. Our vibrant team of professionals endeavour to make a difference to people’s lives by empowering them through high-quality rehabilitation programs.

“At Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation we seek to understand what recovery milestones are important and how to achieve them. We focus on interventions that include meaningful activities to ensure that the rehabilitation journey is engaging and inspiring as we aim to foster empowerment, not dependence”
J. McDonald, Founder and Director

Our difference

Consulting clients throughout their recovery journey – from early intervention through to chronicity management – Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation provides community-based rehabilitation to ensure convenience during programming and client autonomy into the long-term. Our programs are oriented towards education and empowerment, as much as exercise-specifics. We care for our clients and aspire to provide the highest possible standard of Allied Health services.

Conveniently Mobile

Convenience in completion with appointments at home, in the workplace or at a community facility.

Clinical Expertise

Industry leaders in clinically-guided, best-practice exercise-based interventions across a broad spectrum of injuries and illnesses.

Great Communicators

We work collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure true synergy working towards a common goal for our clients.

Outcome Focused

Committed and passionate to facilitate the earliest safe, appropriate and sustainable return to work ensuring a cost-effective service.

Personalised and Personable

We work closely with our clients to provide a highly-tailored service that encapsulates humanistic principles and behaviours.

Our core values

Shoot for the moon

We are always trying to be better at what we do. This invigorates us and is great for all those that we assist and work with. Aspiration is a value shared by us all, as we know it’s great to dwell amongst the stars even if we do miss that moon.

Salt of the earth

Overall, we pride ourselves on just being good citizens. We are humble, authentic, genuine, reliable, trustworthy and straightforward. We look for any opportunity to work with like-minded people.

Do your job well

We do our jobs to the best of our ability with clients, customers and colleagues. We have each other’s back, and trust that others in our team will do the same. We also know that jobs change over time and we embrace that change.

Our candles burn at one end

We don’t shy away from effort and hard work – we believe it is our duty to our clients and customers. We also know that each and every one of us needs to replenish our physical, mental and spiritual energies from time to time. We help each other to burn the candle at one end, but also to leave the other free from flame.

We spread our wings

We encourage supportive independence. We help each other to develop knowledge and skills as people want (and need) to stand on their own two feet.

Our vision

We believe that the potential of healthcare should sit in the hands of the individual and not in the hands of the health professional. It is our further belief that following injury or illness, individuals not only need to understand how to return themselves to a state of optimal health but, also have the will to take action.

At a foundational level, we help individuals to help themselves and we do this by:

Understanding that a return to life sits at the absolute centre of recovery;
Improving the health literacy of individuals;
Providing early access to evidence-informed, high-quality health services;
Building a rehabilitation plan around physical activity;
Empowering individuals to take care of themselves; and
Working collaboratively and in unison with the wider health team.

We envision a utopian society where every Australian with illness or injury understands how to return themselves to health, gets access to the right support at the right time but, also has the confidence, self-efficacy and skill-mastery to take ownership of their recovery. This is a society where individuals receive only the treatment that they need, and not the treatment that they don’t. This is a society where individuals have the confidence to guide their own recoveries, and not feel dependent on others. This is a society where healthcare professionals work together – without ego or agenda, to do nothing more than facilitate all of this in a streamlined, humble and personable manner – with a strong therapeutic alliance at the core.